(Speech delivered by Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin Jr. at the DFA Eidul Adha reception, DFA Lobby, August 16, 2019)
Eidul Adha or the Feast of Sacrifice has been celebrated as a national holiday in the Philippines since it was mandated by law in 2009. The law recognizes the significance of Eidul Adha in paying homage to the trials and triumphs of the Prophet Abraham; known to all the religions of the Book as “the father of many nations.” It commemorates his supreme act of sacrifice and signifies the obedience owed to the Almighty by the fact of our creation at His hands.
As we reflect on this special occasion, we are reminded of our own personal and collective sacrifices to fulfill the mandate of the Department of Foreign Affairs and of the Philippine government to serve the Filipino people and to uphold the national interest here and abroad.
We are also reminded of the men and women of the DFA, both of the past and the present, and their strong commitment to carrying out the most daunting, and even worse, the most grindingly tedious of tasks in the line of duty; especially the last over which we sometimes blow a fuse. We have a group of them in Tripoli today. I won’t let them come home lest in their absence something untoward happens to our people there. Until the last of our people are safe, they will not return to the safety of home.
You might be tempted to think that the sacrifice of Abraham involved the sacrifice of his son and not himself. But I venture to say, as each and every one of us knows, that it is far, far easier to sacrifice ourselves than those we love; it is far far harder to live without our loved ones than alone. We can live in the most basic sense just by ourselves; but we cannot live for long without the company of our loved ones and still call it living. Yet this is what our countrymen do abroad to make the living they cannot at home; that despite the skin-crawling b.s. of publicists that it’s more fun in the Philippines. No, it isn’t if you’re poor. It is what DFA people in hardship posts abroad undergo: not everyone gets an easy post. And there will be less of those as we follow OFWs where they go deeper into the hearts of darkness where opportunities grow.
As I have previously noted, work in the Foreign Service is a thankless job. We try to protect and hopefully advance our national interests and serve millions of Filipinos abroad with unfailing dedication and unflagging effort; knowing that not even they will recognize what we have done for them because after helping them get back on their feet they need move on — and we, we must take on the next problem. Forget reward and recognition. But God sees it all.
In this commemoration of the Feast of Sacrifice, we honor the sacrifices of the unsung, the unmentioned, and the often taken for granted. We take pride precisely in that indifference because the greatest courage lies in doing one’s duty on the sand of an arena where the galleries are empty.
The legislation of the Eidul Adha as a national holiday in the Philippines is also a manifestation of our unbidden and quite spontaneous embrace of the beauty and strength to be found in our cultural diversity. The Filipino never needs to try to be what all peoples should be: brothers and sisters of each other across all humankind. That is our pride as the country where the Statue of Liberty should have been erected; because we’ve always taken in the unwanted and the wretched of the earth. And why? Because we are Filipinos.
I am delighted to note that this Department is among, if not the most successful national government agency in attracting the most diverse pool of talents from all over the country. And I want to emphasize that. I abhor the cookie-cutter approach to recruitment. So boring and commonplace. Foreign Affairs must be what it should be: a mirror image of our internal diversity in personality, in talent, in outlook, and intellectual focus. Step into a foreign post or just here at HQ and you step into Philippine society — including the mass poverty as you all realize when you get your paycheck.
And so I thank you all for your sacrifices and contributions. Our resolve to promote equal opportunity and diversity in our workplace enables us to advance our various advocacies with credibility as truly Filipino people-driven work and mission.
Inclusivity is our aim. Our individual aspirations will naturally be diverse and that is good; but our national loyalty the same. We have common aspirations for a better future. Therefore, we should all work together to make the Foreign Service work satisfyingly for all.
In our consular and ATN offices, we serve millions of passport applicants and assist distressed OFWs with the same quality of service — regardless of their backgrounds and affiliations. Sometimes we get cross under all the pressure but all the time we never relent, we never falter, we always deliver what is expected, as fast as humanly possible.
As we celebrate Eid, may we all be inspired by its universal message — to give what is most precious to us in obedience to the Almighty as befits His creation. With this addition: that we give what’s most precious to us that others need not have to give up the same.
Finally, I would like to commend the efforts of the Office of Middle East and African Affairs and the DFA Muslim Personnel Association for organizing this Eid gathering for all of us to enjoy. As a sura says, “By the Sun and the Noonday brightness, by the Lord of All Creation, I hope the food is good. That is the test of sincerity. Eid Mubarak!
Nota bene: And the food was delicious; the baklava I insisted on made it on time—all prepared and elegantly served by Diamond Hotel. Thank you to our Muslim brothers and sisters working with us in DFA for your warm and unstinting hospitality. They paid the bill. And thank you Mark for this speech.